PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Rhode Island taxpayers’ tab for the Washington Bridge crisis has crossed a milestone, with more than two years to go before a new bridge is scheduled to open.
The R.I. Department of Transportation’s latest progress report shows the agency has spent $203 million addressing the failure of the westbound bridge since its abrupt closure in December 2023 — with $368 million still to be spent over the next few years.
RIDOT has spent $88 million so far demolishing the old bridge, a task which officials deemed substantially complete last December, according to the report. That number has changed little in recent months…